This book was received as an ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books - Bloom Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is unlike any vampire book, I've ever read. This is a unique take on the popular vampire love story, but the fact is, this is not a love story, it's a survival story.....or so we thought. That's what I loved about this book, every page was a surprise. Every time you have the story figured out, a new plot twist emerged which sparks you to keep reading. I love these books as well as my colleagues, and library community. The struggle of dilemma Isolde went through with her relationship with Adrian was real. i have to admit at first, I did not understand why someone wanted to marry somebody that wanted him dead, but after reading the book through and through.

A enraged engaging unique lovekill story unlike any other. This book deserves 5 stars.

Violent passion, hateful rage and sinful pleasure. A fast burn enemies to lovers romance that I couldnt put down! What a fantastic beginning to a new series!

I loved the world building in this book and I can't wait to read the next one in the series. If you like enemies to lovers romance and arranged marriage tropes, then you will love this. Add in the amazing fantasy features and you have a book that you won't be able to put down. The attraction between Adrian the vampire king and Isolde the warrior princess is straight fire, and I am here for it! Fans of the Blood and Ash series will love this one.

If you follow my reviews, you already know how much I love a good fantasy romance/PNR. I’ve had this author on my TBR for what feels like forever. So when I read the blurb to King of Battle and Blood, I knew this would become my first Scarlett St. Clair book. Now generally, I don’t like to read a book knowing the series is not yet finished and it’s not a standalone. But I just couldn’t resist this one and I’m so happy I didn’t.
You’re supposed to say no, at least to my face. Unless you wish to conduct our marriage openly. In which case, shall I start scouting for potential lovers?”
Adrian’s mouth hardened. “Are you demanding fidelity?”
“I will follow as you lead,” I said.
Marriage of convenience.
Enemies to lovers.
Fierce warrior heroine.
High fantasy.
Rich World building.
All of the chemistry.
This book had it all and I was so here for it.
Isolde is a heroine that you love immediately. She’s a beautiful princess, but she’s not sheltered by any means. This is a woman who’s fierce. She’s battle hardened. And she’s also a woman that owns her sexuality and isn’t a shy virgin ingenue. And I absolutely loved that about her.
The Blood King is a monster among men. His name is whispered in fear. His reputation as a ruthless, bloodthirsty monster spans villages. And Isolde isn’t excluded from the list. So when the vampire who is demanding surrender from her kingdom, is willing to trade protection of her people in exchange for her as his bride, she accepts. She would do anything for her people. Even walk willingly into the arms of a monster who she’s been taught to hate and fear all of her life.
I can be anything. Your jailor, your savior, your lover.” His mouth was closer to my ear as he added, “Your monster.”
Adrian was just…gah. I fell so hard for this man. This supposedly ruthless vampire who isn’t at all what he appears to be. I loved discovering every new layer about this man through Isolde’s eyes. The story is told in first POV only from Isolde’s perspective. The pacing was perfection and I simply devoured this story.
The sexual chemistry between Isolde and Adrian was on a whole other level. These two were insidiary. This hate lust that Isolde has for Adrian in combination with his reverence for her was simply delicious. There’s action, rich world building, incredible secondary characters, and sizzling romance. This book was nothing what I expected and everything I had wanted. It ends on a satisfying enough note but still leaving me desperate for the next one. I’m not sure why I haven’t read this author before, but I plan on rectifying this mistake immediately with her backlist. If you love a steamy PNR/Fantasy romance, you don’t want to sleep on this one. Trust me.

I wasn’t expecting much since I’m not familiar with the author’s works. After reading this book, I have no interest in reading their other books.

The plot was messy. The entire book felt like it was revolving around Adrian and Isolde’s relationship, which would be fine if Isolde wasn’t always so impulsive and jealous. Adrian was not an intriguing enough character as a vampire. I wanted to see more of his vampiric characteristics. Instead he just comes off as your basic dark hero who is dangerous and powerful but incredibly patient and obsessed with the heroine.

I also really dislike the fated mates bond and while this wasn’t that, it had elements that were similar enough that it made the story really contrived and convenient. Reveals would be made with no context simply to move the story forward.

The main characters are caricatures and tropey. The sex scenes were repetitive and honestly pretty boring. I liked the idea of vampires and vassals, and the history of witches, but that was it.

Not interested in continuing the series.

I loved this book and could not put it down. It has a bit of everything: kingdoms, unwanted marriages, love, deceit, sex, vampires, witches and a surprise betrayal. There are even beheadings, burning of villages, and a royal coronation. That's just in the first couple of chapters. Readers do not have to worry about being bored reading this book, but fair warning it is not what you would call high brow literature either. Also, there is alot of explicit sex... a lot. If a reader is into a light read then this is a great choice. If a reader is looking for intellectual reading, this is not it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book was a decent addition to the fantasy/ romance genre. It likely ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of people. There was a broody, dangerous but sweet for her male lead and a strong, independent, and powerful female lead, decent mystery enough to keep you hooked relatively well. But for me it rang a little predictable, I hoped for a bit more intrigued from it. Definitely a decent novel but I wished for something a bit stronger.

The king of Battle and Blood was the perfect book for paranormal romance fans. With a love interest you fall for from the word go and plenty of steamy scenes it is the perfect read

This was delightfully predictable, spicy, fantasy goodness. I got a few chapters in and said out loud… “this is what From Blood and Ash” should’ve been edited down to. Is it perfect? Complex? No. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The pace was quick, but I still was made to care about the main character. Will read the next installment!

Will They Fight or Will They Fuck? The Ultimate Rhetorical Question For This Book.

Where do I even begin?

Before you all come for me…

This was hands down one of the most ridiculous books I’ve ever read.

So here we go, from the top!

Enter Killian: Probably the most obnoxious male character I’ve had the displeasure of reading. He is nothing short of insecure and possessive. It’s not a good look and made me want to throw this book across the room. There is nothing charming or endearing about his behaviour. Nothing remotely desirable. I’m convinced his only purpose was to annoy the reader. Congratulations, it worked.

On that note I will add, this is not in anyway enemies to lovers like it was pitched. Isolde has about two slightly questionable thoughts on the King (Adrian) before she fantasizes about him between her legs. Then proceeds to think about the way he would taste for a few pages before they actually act on those feelings. They were not enemies, they were immediately enamoured with one another.

Throughout this book I was wondering what the purpose of any of this was. I found myself going back because surely I missed something right? The answer would be no. I made it to the end and my main question was “Why the fuck does he constantly call her Sparrow?” The name came out of nowhere. Could it be that the whole piece of character development was simple left out of my book? Unlikely. I suppose the author wanted Isolde to have an endearing nickname, however, that only works if you build the relationship up enough for the reader to care.

Moving on.

I know a lot of romance authors go with the “Smut is the plot” movement, but they are also able to have some form of plot. Something of intrigue. This book spent about 200 pages traipsing through a vampire camp that was in the middle of trying to conduct its bi-annual orgy, which I’m pretty sure was coordinated by a guy named Mike.

I don’t really have much else to say if I’m honest as nothing really happened. Isolde spent most of her time either fantasizing about Adrian fucking her, or just having him do it. I’m still not sure what the point of this book is or what was supposed to be accomplished. I know there is a sequel coming, but the compulsion is not there. Though I hope for everyone who reads the it, something happens.

Is it GOOD? Probably not. Is it everything you expect it to be? For sure. Does it do anything new? No, not really. Did I whip through it? Yes, yes I did. Will I read the next one. I bet I will.

I started King of Battle and Blood and for some reason I was just not enjoying it. I got to about 22% before I decided not to continue. I think I just wasn’t in the mood this time but I will try again at a later date

Thank you to Bloom Books and Netgalley for providing me with this copy!

I really enjoyed this book! I’m a sucker for vampires, especially when written for adults… the plot twist wow I did not see coming! Definitely recommend this book to any fantasy romance fans!

Book was super predictable and easy to read. I loved Isolde - she is a strong female and doesn't give into any of the male bullies. I can't wait for the sequels!

Was it OMG amazing, can't put it down, best book of the year? No. But it was perfectly pleasant and a good read between commitment books.

3.5 Stars

I finally read a Scarlett St. Clair book! Am I the last person to do so? Sometimes it feels like it since I’ve seen her books all over social media the past year. KING OF BATTLE AND BLOOD by Scarlett St. Clair was a surprise for me. I went into it with low expectations, I admit, because of what I’ve heard of the authors’ popular other series. Maybe that played into my enjoyment of this one a bit.

Isolde is a princess and it has been arranged for her to marry the vampire king. She’s also tasked with killing him to end a war, as her mission to her people. But things don’t quite go according to plan and instead of succeeding she grows enchanted by the mysterious vampire.

I am partial to paranormal books that have a political conflict in the worldbuilding. It just makes them that much more interesting! I could’ve used a bit more worldbuilding with this one as it was definitely more on the sexy side but still with a decent plot that kept me engaged. At times it reminded me to A HEART OF BLOOD AND ASHES but it can also be considered a more adult take on FROM BLOOD AND ASH. In fact, if you are a fan of FBAA you will probably enjoy this one. It’s steamier and more fast paced.

When it comes to the characters and the romance, I liked them good enough and I liked them together. But I had my moments of frustration especially with Isolde. Don’t go into this expecting the most mature heroine, but I like seeing character growth throughout a series so I’ll be willing to give her the time to see things outside of her sheltered perspective and grow as we go into the series. I would’ve liked to see more build up to the relationship and love part. Things move at a rapid pace with that. Worked great for the physical aspect, but it didn’t sell the deeper connection for me.

Overall a solid paranormal fantasy and I’ll be reading the next one.

I’ve seen another reviewer claim that this is not a fantasy novel, but instead vampire erotica, so basically a book of sex with a bit of vampire fantasy politics added as filler in between. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.

There’s not much happening. When the main character Isolde isn't having sex, she's busy being jealous of every woman in her now husbands vicinity. In her case the jealousy is kind of well deserved, but it’s still rather boring to read about.

Isolde herself is *not like other girls*. She doesn't want a husband or marriage, whe wants to be a warrior. Wooooow. So special. And of course she *loathes* her new hubby - at least for a few pages.
Adrian is... there. I don't think he has much of a personality. He's probably supposed to be this ruthless and dangerous vampire, but he really isn't. I wish the author had given him a personality.

In the end all I can say about this book is that I didn’t enjoy it at all.

This was fine - I finished it, but it doesn't stand out to me from the sea of fantasy romance books. It felt like the plot was too strictly structured and repetitive for my tastes - fight scene, followed by the characters taking a bath and then maybe having sex. Underwhelming but not bad.

It really just didn't do it for me. As I have heard other books described before, I felt it fit the - "I like a little more plot with my smut please." category. This book felt extremely repetitive and just not exactly my cup of tea, which is a damn shame because I miss reading good vampire based novels. 2.5 stars rounded up because I liked the author as a human, not necessarily the book.

This story was really good, lots of twists and turns, i loved the paranormal aspects of this story and the world building in this books. Adrian was a very intriguing character and this was definitely a slow burn for sure, i was dying for answers the whole time. But I really enjoyed the ending and I cannot wait for the sequel.